:K  ANNEX 

500 
8175 


a  Man 


By 
RABBI  MARTIN  ZIELONKA 


TEMPLE  MT.  SINAI 
EL  PASO,  TEXAS 


Stack 
Annex 


£7 
^  CQ 

What  Can  a  Mangy 7, 
Believe? 

BY  RABBI  MARTIN  ZIELONKA 

Based  on  the  Book,  "What  Can  a  Man 

Believe,"   by   Bruce  Barton. 


It  was  in  a  Pullman  car — I  noticed 
a  man  reading  a  book  and  he,  in 
turn,  noticing  my  interest  in  what 
he  was  reading  said,  "There  ought 
to  be  more  books  like  this;  it  hits 
the  bull's-eye  at  every  point:  it  is 
what  we  need  today."  I  looked  at 
the  book  and  it  was  Bruce  Barton's 
"What  Can  A  Man  Believe."  Noting 
the  enthusiasm  of  this  man,  who 
seemed  an  average  successful  busi- 
ness man,  I  deemed  it  best  to  read 
the  book  and  to  see  what  appealed 
so  strongly  to  the  average  man. 

Religion  is  a  favorite  topic  of  con- 
versation wherever  men  forgather. 
They  love  to  show  their  liberalism,  or 
at  least  the  veneer  of  liberalism. 
They  love  to  point  out  the  places  in 
the  Bible  in  which  they  do  not  be- 
lieve, where  moral  standards  seem 
to  be  lower  than  our  present  stand- 
ards, and  to  pick  flaws  in  the  life 
story  of  Bible  heroes,  forgetting  or 
probably  not  knowing,  that  the  sub- 
limity of  the  Bible  rests  on  its  splen- 
did human  characteristics.  In  the 
Bible  no  one  is  a  goody-goody,  each 
one  sins  in  some  particular  way  and 
the  good  of  the  completed  life  so 
overshadows  the  slip  from  settled 
standards  of  morality,  that  we  rec- 
ognize brethren,  fellow  workers,  in 
the  fields  of  human  endeavor.  Not 
even  a  Moses,  was  sinless.  He  was 
not  granted  the  right  to  enter  the 
Promised  Land.  Judaism  knows  no 
perfect  man  at  any  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world.  Thus  in  these 
conversations  we  gain  an  insight  into 
Mr.  Average  Man  and  Mr.  Average 
Man  feels  that  this  book  of  Bruce 

i       5308175 


Baton's  is  just  about  the  last  word 
on  his  favorite  theme 

Some  one  in  reviewing  the  works 
of  Bruce  Barton  said;  as  the  author 
of  "Book  That  Nobody  Knows"  he 
presented  the  Bible  as  only  he  knew 
it:  that  as  the  author  of  "The  Man 
Nobody  Knows"  he  presented  a 
sketch  of  the  founder  of  Christian- 
ity who  was  only  known  to  him.  If 
I  might  carry  this  suggestion  a  lit- 
tle further,  I  would  say  that  in  pre- 
senting "What  Can  A  Man  Believe," 
he  really  presents  a  work  on  "The 
Religion  Nobody  Knows."  And  in 
saying  that  I  am  epitomizing  my 
comment  on  the  book. 

The  author  traces  the  origin  of 
faith,  he  shows  the  accomplishments 
of  faith  and  then  in  his  own  words 
"The  plea  of  this  book  is  for  a  frank 
recognition  of  the  truth  that  the 
faith  which  begets  great  Achieve- 
ments and  the  faith  which  worships 
are  both  of  the  same  spirit:  that  re- 
ligion is  as  natural  and  normal  a  part 
of  human  experience  as  birth  and 
growth  and  hope  and  love.  We  say 
that  it  is  time  to  take  religion  out  of 
the  hush-hush  class:  to  recognize 
frankly  and  normally  that  every 
worth  while  enterprise  is  an  act  of 
faith  that: 

There  is  no  unbelief 
Whoever  plants  a  seed   beneath  the 

sod 

And  waits  to  see  it  push  away  the 
clod 

He  trusts  in  God." 

This  is  splendid.  As  also  is  splen- 
did his  criticism  of  the  use  to  which 
the  religious  forces  are  put  today — 
"And  the  great  forces  of  its  organ- 
ized power  are  exerted  for  what?  To 
keep  people  who  like  wine  and  who 
consider  there  is  no  moral  wrong  in 
drinking  it,  from  having  it.  To  sup- 
pi  ess  Sunday  games.  To  be  very  bit- 
ter and  unforgiving  toward  the  girl 
who  yields  to  the  impulses  of  hot 
blood.  These  things  which  Jesus  re- 
garded as  of  less  importance  have 
become  the  law  and  the  prophets.  And 
the  other  and  greater  sins  go  usually 
unrebuked." 


Credit  also  must  be  granted  for 
pointing  out  to  the  average  man 
that  "education  in  America  did  not 
start  with  some  millionaire  donat- 
ing a  stadium:  it  started  with  a  sin- 
cere hope  that  learning  and  religious 
leadership  might  be  preserved."  Not 
the  men  of  wealth  are  responsible  for 
Harvard,  but  the  humble  preachers 
and  teachers  who  gave  their  libraries 
and  donated  their  time  and  talent. 
This  ought  to  be  emphasized  in  this 
age  where  we  believe  that  millions 
are  absolutely  needed  and  that  mil- 
lionaires present  the  only  saviors  of 
our  schools  and  our  public  works.  At 
the  same  time  we  want  to  recognize 
that  "if  democracy  and  modern  ed- 
ucation are  the  gifts  of  the  church, 
so  also  are  hospitals  for  the  sick  and 
insane,  and  all  the  multitude  of  ag- 
encies for  social  forces  in  which  our 
civilization  has  so  much  pride. 

The  word  church  must  be  under- 
stood in  the  broadest  sense.  For  the 
synagogue  and  Temple  have  been 
leaders  in  these  humanitarian  ef- 
forts and  they  have  received  their  in- 
spiration from  the  teaching  of  the 
Old  Testament.  Jewish  hospitals  and 
orphanages  are  the  leaders  in  this 
line  of  endeavor  and  the  Jew  has  giv- 
en to  social  service  not  only  its  tech- 
nique but  also  its  method  of  raising 
funds. 

I  shall  not  discuss  all  the  questions 
that  Bruce  Barton  claims  are  the 
inspiration  for  his  work.  The  first 
two  questions  he  has  not  answered 
satisfactorily.  He  has  often  begged 
the  question.  But  when  he  tries  to 
answer — "Of  the  various  religions 
now  extant  which  is  the  best?" 
"What  few  simple  things,  if  any,  can 
a  business  man  believe"  and  "If  there 
is  to  be  a  faith  of  the  future,  what 
kind  of  a  faith  will  it  be?"  then  I 
want  the  right  to  question  every 
statement  that  he  has  made. 

He  discusses  Buddhism,  Confu- 
cianism and  Mohammedanism  and 
naturally  sets  these  aside  for  Chris- 
tianity. Just  where  he  got  his  in- 
formation about  these  foreign  relig- 
ions, I  do  not  know,  but  judging 
from  his  statements  they  were  de- 


rived  from  biased  sources,  whose  ob- 
ject was  to  prove  the  inferiority  of 
these  religions  to  that  of  his  own. 
And  in  doing  so  he  naturally  magni- 
fies his  own.  I  do  not  know  how  many 
followers  of  these  faiths  Bruce  Bar- 
ton knows,  so  that  by  his  examina- 
tion into  their  lives  he  might  deduce 
the  effect  of  the  teaching  upon  their 
conduct?  Probably  very  few,  if  any! 
But  he  surely  knows  some  Jews,  he 
knows  of  the  activities  of  Jews  in 
every  form  of  human  endeavor,  he 
could  easily  verify  Jewish  facts  in 
the  large  centers  of  American  life 
and  yet  he  has  not  a  line  about  Ju- 
daism and  its  teachings  or  about  the 
possibility  that  it  may  contain  those 
fundamental  truths  that  a  man  can 
believe,  because  it  is  the  foundation 
of  all  Christian  teaching.  It  is 
strange  that  in  searching  for  truth, 
for  fundamentals  by  which  the  mod- 
ern man  can  live,  he  should  go  far 
afield,  to  Buddhism,  Confucianism 
and  Mohammedanism,  when  there  ex- 
isted at  his  side  a  faith,  from  which 
his  own  faith  has  developed  which 
still  shows  vitality  and  ability  to  ad- 
just itself  to  its  surroundings. 

Thus  for  instance,  he  ascribes  to 
his  form  of  faith  those  cardinal  doc- 
trines that  belong  primarily  to  Ju- 
daism and  because  the  sister  relig- 
ions have  not  accepted  them  are 
still  emphasized  by  that  veteran  of 
faiths,  Judaism.  For  instance,  he 
tells  us  that  the  message  of  Jesus 
was — "God  is  a  Father,  who  may  be 
approached  directly  by  any  of  His 
Children  without  mediation  of  tem- 
ple or  priest."  Now  .  s  a  matter  of 
fact  the  churches  that  have  been 
founded  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  em- 
phasize at  all  times  that  God  can  best 
be  approached,  or  only  approached, 
through  the  mediatorship  of  Jesus: 
while  accepting  God  as  the  Father, 
they  feel  that  it  is  through  his  son 
that  salvation  will  come.  At  the  same 
time  the  author  is  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  even  within  the  ancient 
temple  walls,  where  priests  offered 
sacrifices,  there  were  special  places 
where  prayer  alone  was  offered,  and 
that  prayer  was  directed  directly  to 


God.  As  early  as  in  the  days  of  Eli, 
the  priest,  Hannah  answers — "No, 
my  lord,  I  am  a  woman  of  a  sorrow- 
ful spirit:  I  have  drunk  neither  wine 
or  strong  drink,  but  I  poured  out 
my  soul  before  the  Lord",  for  Han- 
nah had  "prayed  unto  the  Lord  and 
wept  sore."  The  Jew  has  always 
taught  and  is  still  teaching  today 
that  God  is  the  Father  who  may  be 
approached  directly  at  all  times.  That 
is  the  message  of  our  holy-day  sea- 
son— God,  the  Father,  offering  a 
means  of  redemption  unto  his  child- 
ren. 

And  if  he  examines  "the  various 
religions  now  extant"  in  order  to 
reach  some  reasonable  conclusion  as 
to  "which  is  best"  then  out  of  fair- 
ness to  his  readers,  out  of  fairness  to 
the  struggle  that  Judaism  has  car- 
ried on  all  these  centuries,  he  ought 
to  have  included  that  faith  in  his 
survey.  If  he  had  done  this,  then  he 
might  have  found  an  easier  answer 
to  the  other  two  questions.  He  might 
not  have  offered  forced  explanations 
for  miracles  and  other  things  that 
need  so  much  explaining  and  he  may 
have  found  the  reason  why  "it  is 
likewise  true  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
might  feel  uncomfortable  in  some  of 
the  temples  erected  in  His  name." 

And  then  when  he  answers  the 
questions  concerning  religion  he  pre- 
sents a  diluted  Christianity  that  can 
hardly  be  accepted  by  any  organized 
Christian  Church.  He  presents  a 
faith  that  approaches  nearer  and 
nearer  to  that  faith  from  which  Chris- 
tianity sprang  and  which  this  house 
of  God  is  proclaiming  year  in  and 
year  out. 

"What  are  the  simplest  things  we 
can  write  down?"  he  says.  He  places 
them  in  this  order,  1.  I  believe  in  my- 
self (and  no  one  who  reads  the  book 
can  have  any  doubt  that  Bruce  Bar- 
ton believes  in  himself).  2.  I  know 
that  I  am  intelligent.  3.  Because  I 
am,  I  believe  in  God.  4.  Immor- 
tality of  some  sort  is  a  necessary 
compliment  t^  the  existence  and  na- 
ture of  God." 

We  will  not  quarrel  with  the  order 
in  which  these  axioms  are  placed : 


we  would  simply  point  out  that  there- 
in is  said  nothing  of  the  great  body 
of  doctrine  that  is  essential  to  Chris- 
tianity. Nor  is  such  a  statement  a 
satisfactory  one  for  the  religion  of 
today.  If  this  is  the  order  of  the 
credos  of  modern  belief  then  has 
man  m:.de  God  in  his  own  imagt  and 
he  believes  as  Barton  says  that  "In- 
telligence is  God."  Surely  there  is 
not  found  in  such  a  statement  the 
sanctions  and  urge  for  further  en- 
deavor along  these  lines  which  he 
previously  pointed  out  as  the  gifts 
of  religion  to  the  civilization  of  all 
times — education,  hospitals,  orphan- 
ages and  general  recognition  of  our 
duty  to  the  lowly.  Surely  that  can- 
not be  the  "faith  of  the  futture,"  it 
would  be  a  sferile  faith. 

And  before  giving  our  answer  as 
to  "What  Can  a  Man  Believe,"  let 
us  note  the  strictures  that  he  places 
upon  the  modern  church.  Whether 
they  apply  to  the  modern  synagogue, 
I  shall  let  yo..  answer  for  yourselves. 
He  says — First — "In  one  respect  the 
church  can  learn  honesty  from  busi- 
ness." He  makes  this  statement  with 
reference  to  church  statistics  about 
which  we  heard  so  much  a  few 
months  ago.  I  am  under  the  impres- 
sion that  it  is  the  business  of  relig- 
ion to  tea«.h  ^onesty  to  business.  At 
least,  I  believe  that  business  needs 
that  lesson  if  the  record  of  a  famous 
lawsuit  recently  tried  in  Washing- 
ton is  a  criterion  as  to  what  is  going 
on  in  the  business  world,  and  if  the 
innumerable  lawsuits  that  crowd  the 
courts  of  every  commuitv  in  America 
prove  anything.  Secondly  —  "It 
sounds  almost  shocking,  ytet  it  is 
true,  that  in  some  respects  the  church 
does  not  have  as  much  faith  as  bus- 
iness." There  is  a  kernel  of  truth  in 
this  matter.  Somehow  or  another 
the  business  man  lives  day  by  day 
through  faith  and  carries  on  his  bus- 
iness through  faith,  but  when  he 
faces  the  real  issues  of  life  then  he 
lacks  that  strength  of  faith  that  wLl 
move  mountains.  As  Barton  tells  us 
— The  whole  modern  commercial 
structure  is  built  on  a  foundation  of 
credit.  And  what  is  the  world  credit, 


where  does  it  come  from?  Credo — I 
believe.  Business  is  good  or  bad, 
statisticians  point  out,  according  to 
the  degree  of  confidence.  What  is 
confidence?  Confides,  with  faith. 
Such  and  such  a  concern  is  weak  be- 
cause its  personnel  lacks  fidelity.Fi- 
delity:  fidelis:  faithful."  The  same 
belief,  confidence  and  faith  we  need 
in  the  affairs  of  our  churches  and 
synagogues. 

Third — Business  is  endlessly  flex- 
ible and  adaptable:  the  church  is  too 
often  rigid  and  unadaptable.  There- 
in is  a  valid  criticism  of  many  mod- 
ern churches  but  it  is  not  valid  so  far 
as  this  temple  or  its  interpretation  of 
religion  is  concerned.  It  does  adopt 
itself  to  the  needs  of  the  day;  it  has 
set  aside  the  outworn  garments  of 
the  fathers  and  is  seeking  to  clothe 
in  greater  splendor  the  strong  body 
of  Jewish  teachinp-s  that  is  funda- 
mental to  all  faith.  Fourthly — Busi- 
ness checks  up  on  itself  frequently 
to  be  sure  ihat  it  is  still  headed  for 
its  original  goal.  Is  there  not  need 
for  a  similar  check  up  on  the  part 
of  the  church?"  Yes.  and  the  church 
or  synagogue  that  fails  to  do  this,  is 
not  meeting  the  demands  of  a  mod- 
ern church 

I  must  hasten  to  a  close.  If  Bruce 
Barton  had  been  honest  in  his  search 
for  an  answer  to  the  question,  "What 
Can  A  Man  Believe"  and  if  he  had 
turned  to  the  teaching  of  the  Reform 
Jewish  Synagogue,  he  would  have 
found  his  answer  if  he  were  open 
minded  to  accept  it.  Let  me  place  it 
in  the  words  that  our  confirmation 
classes  learn  each  year — 

1.  "We  believe  with  a  sincere  and 
steadfast  faith  that  there  is  a  God, 
who  is  one  and  only  one   the  Crea- 
tor,   Preserver  and      Ruler      of      the 
World." 

2.  "We  believe  with  a  sincere  and 
steadfast   faith   that  man   is  created 
in   the   image   of   God,   innocent  and 
pure,  with  the  impulse  to  develop  to- 
ward perfection." 

3.  "We  believe  with  a  sincere  and 
steadfast  faith  that  the  soul  of  man 
is  immortal,  its  righteousness  brings 
reward,  its  wickedness  punishment. 


4.  "We  believe  with  a  sincere  and 
steadfast  faith  in  the  common  father- 
hood of  God  and  the  comrr.on  brother- 
hood of  man." 

To  the  latter  we,  as  Jews,  add — 
"To  realize  this  is  the  great  aim  and 
hope — the  mission  of  Israel." 

Without  this  latter  phrase,  here  is 
a  statement  of  fundamentals,  begin- 
ning with  God  and  not  with  man, 
which  we  feel  that  every  honest  man 
can  accept.  We  have  here  the  teach- 
ings which  have  been  and  will  con- 
tinue to  be  the  inspiration  for  all  the 
splendid  fellowship  work  for  which 
Barton  gives  the  Church  credit.  We 
have  here  a  statement  that  does  not 
need  to  apologize  for  or  explain  away 
some  of  the  teachings  ascribed  to 
religion.  These  answer  definitely  the 
question  of  his  book  "What  Can  A 
Man  Believe"  and  we  present  it  to 
him  for  consideration.  For  the  re- 
ligion he  presents  to  the  American 
public  is  a  "Religion  that  Nobody 
Knows"  and  that  no  Christian  Church 
woul  accept  arf  its  teachings  and  its 
program. 


J1NIV.  GE  CALIF.  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELE! 


A     000  075  258     4 


